O'Clair For State Senate?

Tom O’Clair, who has been lobbying for several years in hopes of getting the state Legislature to pass a mental health parity law named after his son, Timothy, says he’s considering a runÂ for state SenateÂ in the 44th SD.

That’s the seat held since 1976 byÂ Republican Sen. Hugh Farley. O’Clair said he’s one of at least two, and perhaps three, Democrats to express interest in the race.

O’Clair, 46, said he is about 50 percent certain he’ll run, but he has a few “personal hurdles” he needs to work out, including the fact that as an employee of the state Thruway Authority (he’s a mechanic), he’s barred by the Hatch Act from running for office.

“I’ve been thinking about this for over a year-and-a-half,” O’Clair said. “But I’m not sure what I’m going to do at the moment because I still have a mortgage to pay.”

O’Clair, who has never held elected office, insisted that his potential entrance into politics is not a stunt in an effort to gin up attention to his crusade for “Timothy’s Law,” which would require insurers to provide mental health coverage.

The bill isÂ named for Timothy O’Clair, who hung himself in March 2001 when he was 12. His parents, Tom and Donna, say they sought help for their son for five years, but could not get it due to limits on their insurance policies for mental health and substance abuse services.

Timothy’s Law has been passed annually by the Democrat-led state Assembly, but is bottled up in the GOP-controlled Senate.

“I’m frustrated as somebody who’s lobbying to get legislation in his son’s memor,” Tom O’Clair said. “I’m frustrated as a voter. I’m frustrated as a resident. I feel that’s a frustration born by many New Yorkers. There’s been studies done on how dysfunctional New York State government is. The only way to get it to stop being so dysfunctional is to change it.”